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The History of the Triwizard Tournament

Okay guys, I need a little bit of help from those who have done there homework concerning the Triwizard Tournament.

Here are some questions, though if you feel something needs to be added, go right ahead. I need allt he help I can get.

The Last Triwizard Tournament (not including the one in 1994-hehe) is supposed to be so long ago that everyone knows it exists, knows it's some amazing thing, but it is basically history and no one thinks it will ever come back due to the death toll. When do you estimate the Last Triwizard Tournament being held? Apparently, when it was regularly hosted, it was held every five years.

Which school do you think it would have been held at? My guess is Hogwarts, becuase that's the impression I got when it was talked about.

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before? Surely, a first year would not actually be entered, or could they?

The contests were extremely dangerous. In 1792, "a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage" and all three school heads were injured. As the death toll mounted, the Tournament was discontinued. Most witches and wizards have grown up only hearing stories of these great magical contests of years gone by. The Tournament was gone, but its legacy remained and all Wizard children are familiar with it. No one expected it ever to return.

My thoughts are that realistically, it could have been discontinued for some 200 years.

Consider: if the TriWizard Tournament was up and running when Dumbledore (1892-1899) and Grindelwand (I assume 1894-1899 - when he was expelled) were at school, you would have expected them to have particpated or at least put their names in to the Goblet, being formiddable young wizards of their era, but we don't have a reference to them being involved.

By the same token if it had been around during Tom Riddle's school years or even the Marauders school years, they would have been candidates for it, but again there are no mentions as to involvement or it being around then.

The fact that many wizards and witches have only grown up with the stories suggests that it hadn't been around for at least a century.

I find it interesting though that Barty Crouch Jr as Moody said: "Cheating's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and always has been." Although this was likely part of his plan with Harry rather than from experience of it being around.

Unless anyone can prove otherwise, I'm going with it being discontinued from 1792.

Which school do you think it would have been held at?

Absolutely no idea with this one. Durmstrang, possibly - they like it a bit fruity over there, and no doubt would have been up to some trick or other to ensure they win, and it could have gone horribly wrong.

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before?

I very much doubt anyone below third year would be allowed to enter on the basis they wouldn't know enough magic to be able to deal with the challenges. We already know how dangerous they were, and even wizards and witches who had grown up in the Wizarding World would still have serious limitations in their magic by the time they were 14, as we've seen through the books.

It's also possible that it could maybe have been restricted to anyone who was in their fifth year, and with the move to 17, it would ensure that everyone participating would have at least proved their magical ability to a point, having completed their OWLs.

When do you estimate the Last Triwizard Tournament being held?
Based on Lord Great Chamberlain's research it sounds like 1792 would be the last time the tournament was held, although it probably could have lasted a few decades longer. But I agree, since neither Dumbledore nor Grindelwald was ever said to have been in the tournament, the tradition probably ended before their school days.

Which school do you think it would have been held at?
I always thought the three schools would have taken turns between them to host the tournament, although why I thought this I have no idea. It just seems like a fair arrangement, and would keep one school from having an advantage.

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before? Surely, a first year would not actually be entered, or could they?
I don't think a first year could have entered even before the age limit, simply because the goblet is supposed to pick the "most worthy student" to represent each school. A first year, however talented, wouldn't be the best at representing his school if he or she didn't know enough magic to get through the tasks. There might not have been a formal age limit, but I doubt any student below fourth or fifth year would have been chosen, even if they put their name in the goblet.

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When do you estimate the Last Triwizard Tournament being held?
I believe that the tournament was held after that instance in 1792. However, I do not think it was held very many times after that. Canon says that there were severe injuries during that tournament, not deaths. It further states as does Dumbledore when he is explaining the history of the tournament, that it was discontinued after the death toll rose so high. So, my guess is it was held at least a few times after 1792. Harry was more interested in hearing more about the tournament then deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago. So, that pretty much states the tournament had been discontinued no later than the early to mid 1800's. Dumbledore further states there had been several attempts over the centuries to reestablish the tournament.

Which school do you think it would have been held at?
Canon and Dumbledore tells us the tournament involved the three largest schools in Europe. The three schools took turns hosting it every five years.

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before?
Bagman states that there had been no age limit before. That the age limit was imposed this year as an added safety measure. Mad-Eye states the Goblet is a very powerful magical object. I think it is similar to the Sorting Hat, in that it has a magical intelligence and wouldn't have chosen anyone under a fifth year, possible not under a sixth year. The age limit was as Bagman said, an extra safety measure.

Terri Black (as in Mrs Sirius {aka Padfoot} Black) Hufflepuff Head of House

When do you estimate the Last Triwizard Tournament being held? I'm going to go with the other people here and say that it probably went on for a couple decades after 1792, but was discontinued before Dumbledore went to school. All the reaseasrch is already above.

Which school do you think it would have been held at? It rotated between the three school, so it could have been any of them. I'm inclined to believe that the last one was at Durmstrang. They are the school that focuses heavily on the Dark Arts, so I figure that that's where the death count would be the highest. (Imagine the rivalry with an entire school full of kids being taught dark magic, teenagers with variable moods being taught that they have to beat the other school, no matter how their champion has to cheat.)

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before? Surely, a first year would not actually be entered, or could they? I think that they could enter. The age limit was placed as a safety procaution. I don't think that a first-year could have been chosen though, Harry had enough trouble and he was a fourth year; it would have been all the more difficult as a first-year. But, the trio did get through to the stone during their first year, so who knows, anything's possible. To be safe, I'd say that you probably shouldn't put anyone under a fifth-year into the tournament.

When do you estimate the Last Triwizard Tournament being held? This has already been thouroughly discussed, so I can only add that you should probably choose a date that is later than 1792 by a multiple of 5. 1797, 1802, 1807, 1812, 1817, seeing as the tournament was held ever 5 years. I wouldn't go much farther than the early to mid-1800's, though, because I think Dumbledore was about 150, which would have put his school days and Grindelwald's somewhere near the 1860's.

Which school do you think it would have been held at? It could be any of them, really. For the sake of your story it might be easier to use Hogwarts, though. But I don't know that Durmstrang would have been all that dark at the time. As stated by Moody in GoF (although I don't have a quote), the school started teaching dark arts when Karkaroff became headmaster, and I think we can assume Karkaroff was not around a century and a half ago. It may make more sense to have it somewhere other than Hogwarts if you believe the schools take it in turns to host the tournament.

I know it was a big deal when they upped the age to enter to 17 (of age), but what do you think it was before? Surely, a first year would not actually be entered, or could they? Well Draco kept asking Harry and Ron if they were going to enter, and the Weasley twins seemed certain that they would be able to, before the age limit was imposed. This suggests that 4th years and up had a decent chance of being champion. Notice, too, how the Yule ball was open to 4th years and up- although this may have been simply because there was suddenly a 4th year champion. I don't think the Ministry would ever have imposed an age limit before Harry's days. It's simply a matter of the goblet not choosing those who are way too young. I would say most champions would be OWL students at the least, and the very youngest would be 3d years (since that's the year they start having more options for classes).